Monday, April 22, 2013

Fans Fired Up for NYC Hot Sauce Expo

My taste buds are still tingling from this weekend's fiery debut of the NYC Hot Sauce Expo. Dozens of incendiary blends with wickedly enticing names like Evil Seed, Dragon's Blood Elixer, and PuckerButt competed for the local Oscars of hot sauces - the Screaming Mi Mi Awards.

And to sop up the heat, there was no shortage of tasty vittles from, among others, two East Village newcomers. Empire Biscuit, a 24-hr Southern biscuit shop opening soon in Alphabet City, was doling out fried green tomatoes topped with gooey smoked mozzarella. The upcoming 14th Street addition, The Nugget Spot, wowed with their gourmet Southern fried chicken nuggets and special sauces.

For booze options, KikaEats got to help crown the winning Negra Modelo michelada competition to Crown Heights' Franklin Park.Other local thirst quenchers included The Murph's Famous Blood Mary Mix from Connecticut and whiskey passion fruit cocktails from Tirado, the Bronx's first distillery.

Set along the Williamsburg waterfront, and right next to a bustling Smorgasburg, the setting couldn't have been more perfect. No doubt this expo will be hotter than ever next year.